THEME:
The world is a scary place. There is a war being fought for your soul. But one day the agony of sin will be over. The bliss of heaven will be yours. Satan will be defeated. Then, the lasting and unshakable taste of victory will emerge and you will be with Christ forever. Now that’s something to be joyful about no matter what’s going on around you. At the end of the day, God will win the battle between heaven and hell.
KEY SCRIPTURE:
Revelation 12
Where We’ve Been in Revelation
- The book is “a revelation of Jesus Christ.”
- Revelation is written by the Apostle John, on the island of Patmos.
- The letter is addressed to seven churches that were founded as a result of Paul’s ministry in Ephesus.
- After addressing each of these churches, chapters 4-5 look to the future. They detail worship in heaven and the acceptance of a scroll that only Jesus can open.
- Chapters 6-7 reveal what is in the scroll. The first set of seals release four horsemen, each with his own specific mission, in order to bring divine judgment on the earth.
- The opening of the fifth seal releases the cries of martyrs.
- The sixth seal prompts plagues, storms and other cataclysmic events.
- Chapters 8-11 chronicle silence in heaven (the 7th seal), the blowing of seven trumpets of destruction, the defeat of those who have denied the faith, and a vision of two witnesses who prophecy judgment because of sin.
Revelation 12:1-6
And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.
Genesis 37:9
Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
Revelation 12:3
And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.
Revelation 12:4
His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth.
Ezekiel 28:16
In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
You can live your life with hope because this spiritual war is not a 50-50 proposition
Job 1:7-12
The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
Revelation 12:7-17
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
Your spiritual battle will likely intensify before it ends, so be ready to fight
Revelation 12:13-14, 17
And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
This entire narrative is meant to give you hope regarding the final victory of Christ